


Return

by Goldenframe



Category: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness - Michelle Paver
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldenframe/pseuds/Goldenframe
Summary: Spoilers for Ghost Hunter! This takes place when Torak is recovering after the fall in Ghost Hunter.
Relationships: Renn/Torak (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Return

Renn looked down at Torak who was lying unconscious in his sleeping-sack. She couldn’t believe he was alive! At times she thought she must have imagined it all and the movements of his breathing chest was just the flickering light in Dark’s cave. 

She was anxious for him to wake up. With a shudder she remembered the sight of Bale’s shattered head on the ground after the fall. Would Torak ever be the same? Would he even remember her? Renn told herself it didn’t matter as long as he was alive. 

A chilly breeze blew into the cave and Renn crawled into her own sleeping-sack which she had placed next to Torak’s. 

“You should get some sleep,” Dark told her. 

She ignored him. 

“I can tell you if he wakes up.” 

“No, I want to be there when it happens,” Renn said even though her mind was starting to fog from tiredness. 

Sensing that it was futile to argue with her, Dark gave up and instead began feeding the fire. 

Every now and then he threw anxious glances at Wolf who was lying at the other side of Torak, next to Darkfur and Pebbles. Wolf had been carefully guarding his pack brother and making sure that his souls didn’t leave his body again. 

Renn looked at the Death Marks on Torak’s chest. She was glad that they were there, stopping his souls from separating when he died. Had he? There was no way that he could have survived the fall, yet here he was. She had checked the back of his head, expecting it to be cracked. But it was all intact. The blood on his body had been from the fight. Renn had washed it off him so that the trace of demon wouldn’t taint him. 

Dark handed her a handful of dried berries. She gratefully accepted them, hoping it would give her some energy to stay awake. She had just put the first one in her mouth when she felt a stir on her left side. 

“Torak?” she said anxiously and met his barely open eyes. 

Renn wanted to hug and kiss him. Tell him how unbelievably happy she was that he was still with her. It took everything in her to stop herself. She didn’t want to hurt him or spook him if he didn’t recognize her. 

Wolf greeted his pack brother with licks to the face. 

“Wolf?” Torak said hoarsely. He looked confused. 

“Do you know where you are?” Renn asked. She hoped he didn’t hear the anxiousness in her voice. 

“Renn?” he said. “How are you here? Did you also die? Where is Fa and Ma?” 

“You’re not dead. You are alive. We are in Dark’s cave.” 

Dark picked up a waterskin and handed it to Renn who held it towards Torak’s lips, helping him drink. He coughed but then swallowed it down. 

“But I remember starting my death journey,” Torak said when he was done. 

“Maybe you imagined it,” Renn said. 

She could see in his eyes that memories were beginning to form. 

“I was making my way towards the sky, when I saw Wolf. He pushed me back into my body.” 

Torak licked his pack brother’s face. 

Renn gave Torak a few of her berries to see if he could keep them down. He hungrily swallowed them all at once. 

Renn silently thanked the guardian for bringing him back to her. She reminded herself to give an offering to Rip, Rek and Ark later. For now, she would just savour the moment. 

********************************************************************* 

Everything in Torak’s body hurt. It felt worse than when he had just been spirit walking. He looked down at his naked arms. He had several dark bruises. His clothes were hanging next to the fire. 

Renn told him that it had been one day since he first woke up in Dark’s cave and that he had been asleep for most of it. 

Her hair glimmered in the fire light and he felt grateful to see her again. For having been given another chance. 

She handed him a bowl of broth and fed him with his spoon. His arm felt too heavy and battered to hold it himself. 

“I saw Fa,” he said when he had finished eating. 

“After you had...?” 

“No. When Eo- the Eagle Owl mage summoned all the Soul Eaters. I think he has been released from it all now that they are defeated. Now that I have finished his task.” 

Renn took his hand. It hurt but he didn’t say anything about it. He recalled the kiss they had shared before he left to fight Eostra. He was afraid to bring it up. Torak had never expected to come back. He wondered what it meant for them. How things would change. 

“Dark and I met the Walker when we were bringing you back to the cave. He told us that he was the one who brought you out from the Mountain. At least that’s what I think he said.” 

Torak thought back to all the times they had met him before. How, in his own erratic way, he had always helped them. 

“The Raven Mage has passed on,” Renn said. 

“How do you know that?” 

“I saw her in the Mountain. She showed me the way towards you.” 

Torak knew what that meant for Renn’s future and squeezed her hand. The action sent a jolt of pain but he tried his best not to show it. 

“Dark will be back from checking his snares any time now. Tomorrow I will go to the Mountain Hares and the Swans to ask them to help us move you. I would rather stay with you but Dark didn’t want to meet the Swans.” 

“I feel like I’m an infant having to be carried by its mother,” Torak said. 

“You saved them all! The least they can do in return is helping you get down from the Mountain.” 

He knew she was right but he didn’t feel comfortable in the role of the hero and saviour. He only wanted to be Torak: a young man, hunter, friend and pack brother. Could he ever fit in with the clans? 

He looked at Renn. With Saeunn gone she was next to become the Raven Mage. She couldn’t just leave her responsibilities even if she wanted to. Which he was not sure she did. The Raven Clan was her home. They were her kin. He had been fostered into it but it was not the same for him and he had never been fully accepted by any of the clans. But he knew that he wanted to be with her. The thought of being separated from Renn hurt him as much on the inside as he was bruised on the outside. 

********************************************************************* 

Krukoslik personally came with a few Mountain Hares to fetch Torak. He bowed before Torak as a sign of respect for ridding the Mountain of the great evil that had been dwelling in it. The other Mountain Hares were cautious. No doubt because Torak was tainted with death. 

With one arm around Renn’s shoulder and another around Krukoslik’s they began the walk down from the Mountain. The pain in his bruised limbs was still excruciating but he kept quiet as he didn’t want to be carried. 

As they reached the foot of the Mountain, Torak asked them to stop. He sat down to catch his breath. “I think I should make a sacrifice to the Mountain,” he said. Both Renn and Krukoslik agreed. 

At first, he was unsure of what to give but he settled on his father’s seal amulet. It hurt to part with it but he reminded himself that he still had his Fa’s knife and his Ma’s medicine horn. Torak was about to rub some red ochre on the Mountain when Renn stopped him. “It might anger the Hidden People.” she said. 

Torak placed the amulet in a crevice. “Thank you, Mountain, for allowing me passage,” he said. 

They continued their cumbersome walk to Krukoslik’s sled. As they reached it, Torak felt relieved to be able to sit down for the rest of the journey back to the clans. The sled hit a bump and Renn’s elbow slammed against his battered arm. He wanted to cry out in pain but stopped himself. He didn’t want her to move further away in fear of hurting him. Instead he took her hand and she squeezed it back. 

He tried to block out the fact that she had to stay with the Ravens and he had to leave. Perhaps everything would be different this time. Maybe they would welcome him with open arms. 

Torak did his best to savour this moment. Right now, Renn was with him and his pack brother was running not far from the sled. They were together and what would come later was for the future to decide.


End file.
